The Role of the Unit Leader, Individually Guided Education

This field study defines the role of a Unit Leader in a school using Individually Guided Education. Specifically, it defines the role of a unit leader at Roach School in Decatur, Illinois. Individually Guided Education is a new form of elementary education. It uses multiunit organization and instructional programming for individual students. It uses an Instructional Improvement Committee made up of unit or team leaders and the principal. These persons coordinate the curriculum within the school. The writer defined each of these areas - Individually Guided Education, Unit Leader, and the Instructional Improvement Committee in two ways. One definition looked at the terms as they are seen by those who authored the program. The other definition examined how they functioned at Roach School in Decatur, Illinois. Several major differences were noted: In most areas using Individually Guided Education there is more than one school in each district participating. In Decatur, there was only one at the time the study was done. Unit Leaders in most systems using Individually Guided Education are given monetary compensation for their work. At Roach School there was no compensation given. Unit Leaders in most systems using Individually Guided Education are given released time to perform their duties. At Roach School, this was not the case. In most schools using Individually Guided Education there were aides hired for each team. At Roach School, the majority of our aides are there due to the Special Education classrooms. Unit Leaders meet certain qualifications and were then appointed by the principal in most Individually Guided Education schools. This was not the case at Roach School. The unit leaders were elected by the unit members. There are several conclusions to be drawn. Individually Guided Education at Roach School could be administered more efficiently. Persons who are paid to do a job and given the time to do it are more apt to be efficient and do their best. Persons who are asked to give up their own time for no compensation are not apt to do their best. Furthermore, many do not want any part of that job. The qualifications are important. The job requires someone who can lead people as well as have ideas to improve the curriculum. So, the one who is just willing to say, “I’ll do the job for a year.” is not always the one who will be the best for the school. Also included in the field study, are minutes of the Instructional Improvement Committee throughout the year. Related materials, such as evaluations, printed materials, and budgets are found in the appendixes

Alkali-Silica Reaction Mitigation using Alternative Supplementary Cementitious Materials

Over the past few decades, Class F fly ash has been widely used in concrete as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) due, in part, to its ability to mitigate alkali-silica reaction (ASR). However, future availability of fly ash is uncertain as the energy industry shifts towards renewable sources, resulting in the closure of coal-burning power plants. Therefore, there is a growing need to find alternatives to fly ash that are both cost effective and environmentally friendly. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of ground-granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), metakaolin, and a locally available natural pozzolan mined from a pumicite deposit near Espanola, NM, USA as potential replacements for fly ash in mitigating ASR. Mortar mixtures were used to assess the ability of each SCM to mitigate ASR, while concrete mixtures were evaluated to assess the effects of the SCMs on rheological properties, compressive and flexural strengths, shrinkage, frost resistance, and chloride ion permeability. Minimum pumicite and metakaolin contents of 25% and 15%, respectively, were needed to mitigate ASR in mixtures with highly reactive aggregates. Mortar mixtures containing pumicite or metakaolin were substantially more effective at mitigating ASR than fly ash mixtures. GGBFS was ineffective for mitigating ASR and was observed to increase ASR expansions such that they surpassed the expansions for the control mixtures containing only cement. The results also showed that replacing fly ash with metakaolin or natural pozzolan had minimal impact on the fresh properties of the concrete mixtures. While all concrete mixtures showed adequate strength values suitable for most concrete applications, metakaolin mixtures had slightly greater 28-day compressive and flexural strengths compared to natural pozzolan mixtures. Using metakaolin, and especially the natural pozzolan, increased shrinkage in concrete mixtures. However, the resulting shrinkage values were acceptable and both SCMs improved frost resistance and decreased chloride ion permeability. Overall, these results support the use of natural pozzolan and metakaolin as reliable alternatives to fly ash in concrete mixtures since they offer satisfactory performance in terms of rheological, mechanical, and durability properties. These findings provide valuable insights for the concrete industry in its search to find sustainable alternatives to fly ash

Accelerated Sulfate Attack Testing for Concrete

Extensive research has been conducted on sulfate attack of concrete structures, however, the need to adopt use of more sustainable materials is driving a need for a quicker test method to assess sulfate resistance. Class F fly ash, which is a byproduct of coal combustion for electricity generation, has historically been used in concrete mixtures to improve sulfate resistance. However, environmental considerations and evolving energy industry has decreased its availability, requiring the identification of economically viable and environmentally friendly alternatives to fly ash. Another challenge in addressing sulfate attack durability issues in concrete is that the standard sulfate attack test (ASTM C1012) is time-consuming, designed for only standard mortars (not concrete mixtures), its ability to replicate field performance accurately is not always consistent, and it does not cover all types of commonly available sulfates. To expedite the testing process, accelerated testing methods for both mortar and concrete mixtures were adopted from previous work for further development and to assess the feasibility of testing sulfate resistance of mortar and concrete mixtures rapidly. This study evaluated 14 mortar mixtures and four concrete mixtures, using two types of portland cement (Type I and Type I/II) and various supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). Mortar mixtures were subjected to testing using both ASTM C1012 and an accelerated mortar bar test, while the concrete mixtures were subjected to an ASTM C1012 based method and an accelerated method for concrete. The study also established criteria for interpreting sulfate resistance for each of the test methods used in this work. The accelerated testing methods significantly reduced evaluation time from 12 months to 21 days for mortar mixtures and from six months to 56 days for concrete mixtures. The proposed interpretation method for mortar accelerated test results showed acceptable consistency with the ACI 318-19 interpretations for ASTM C1012 results. The interpretation methods proposed for the two concrete sulfate attack tests demonstrated excellent consistency with the ASTM C1012 results from mortar mixtures with the same cementitious materials combinations. Metakaolin was shown to improve sulfate resistance for both mortar and concrete mixtures, while silica fume and natural pozzolan had limited impact. Using 15% metakaolin in mortar or concrete mixtures with Type I/II cement resulted in the excellent sulfate resistance

Clinicopathological predictors of chemoresponsiveness in epithelial ovarian cancer: a preliminary institutional study

Objective: One-third of women with epithelial ovarian cancer are resistant to standard platinum-based chemotherapy, and insufficient data exist in predicting response to chemotherapy. We describe the clinical and pathological factors of patients with complete and incomplete response to treatment. Method: In this retrospective study, data was reviewed from 75 medical charts of 243 patients with primary epithelial ovarian cancers as a preliminary study. All patients underwent chemotherapy and cytoreductive surgery for primary disease. Fifty-six patients had complete response (CR) to chemotherapy and 19 had incomplete response (IR). Fifty-eight and 17 patients had optimal and suboptimal cytoreductive surgery, respectively. Clinical and pathological factors were compared in patients with complete and incomplete response to treatment, and optimal and suboptimal surgery. Overall survival (OS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), and time to recurrence (TTR) were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method for patient groups. Results: The majority of patients in both the CR and IR groups were diagnosed at advanced stage ovarian cancer. The CR group had significantly lower preoperative CA125 and was more likely to have optimal chemotherapy. The CR group was also more likely to have lymph nodes removed during cytoreductive surgery. A significantly lower percentage of CR patients died from the disease and had statistically longer disease free survival. Patients who underwent suboptimal surgery had significantly shorter survival, but no difference existed in the time until recurrence between patients with optimal and suboptimal surgery. OS, CSS, and TTR were significantly increased in the CR group and in patients that had optimal surgery. Conclusion: Complete response during treatment and optimal surgery significantly increases OS, CSS, and TTR. Preoperative CA125 and lymph node removal during surgery may be predictive of complete treatment response

Workforce Development for Ultra-High Performance Concrete

Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is a cementitious material with a dense microstructure that contributes to high compressive strengths as well as enhanced durability properties. UHPC also possesses significant post-cracking strength and ductility due to the addition of fibers. These characteristics produce a material that provides advantages over conventional concrete; however, high costs attributed to materials and production, lack of industry familiarity and knowledge, and the absence of standardized design procedures have impeded its wide-spread use. To help disseminate knowledge on UHPC, the first of two workforce development symposiums on UHPC was held on April 17 – 18, 2018 in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The symposium consisted of presentations and hands-on demonstrations to introduce UHPC and distribute the findings of almost a decade of research conducted in New Mexico to a diverse audience including members of the New Mexico Department of Transportation, contractors, designers, researchers, and concrete suppliers